Cancun Update: U.S. Delegation Press Briefing

Posted on 30. Nov, 2010 by astark in U.S.A., bits

The head of the U.S. delegation here, Jonathan Pershing, gave a press briefing on the opening day of the Cancun negotiations, outlining the U.S. stance here at the talks. We were happy to hear that from the U.S. perspective, “a balanced package is within our reach.” The United States is sticking by its previous statements to the effect that an outcome in Cancun should cement the set of decisions made last year under the Copenhagen Accord, that were not officially agreed upon by the Conference of the Parties. Another notable moment was Pershing’s conciliatory statement about the U.S.-China relationship. Whereas in Tianjin tense statements from both sides highlighted the contentious relationship on climate change, it seems that the two delegations have been communicating well and getting along famously between the the Tianjin intersessional in October and now. Pershing noted that “we spent a lot of energy in the past month working on those issues where we disagree and trying to resolve them. My sense is we have made progress.” Hopefully the improved relationship will lead to a better outcome here in Cancun!

Check out a transcript of the briefing on the State Department’s website.

Tags: Adopt a Negotiator, climate change, COP16, Jonathan Pershing, UNFCCC, United States, USA